LEECH BOOK. I. 



27 



and sore head ; bruised rue ^ with salt and honey ; 

 smear the forehead with it, the most approved leech- 

 dom is this for ]dm whose head hath burning and 

 paiuful throes. For the same again ; rub rue in wine, 

 give it to drink to the sufferer, and mingle vinegar 

 with rue and oil ; drip it on the head and smear 

 therewith. 



Book 1. 

 Ch. i. 



11. 



1. Leechdoms for mistiness of the eyes ; take juice or 

 blossoms of celandine, mingle \vith honey of dumljle- 

 dores,* introduce it into a brazen vessel, half warm it ^ Melle Attico, 

 neatly on warm gledes, till it be sodden. This is a 

 good leechdom for dimness of eyes. For the same, 

 mingle the juice of wild rue,^ dewy and bruised, mingle 

 with equally much of filtered honey, smear the eyes 

 with that. For mistiness of eyes many men, lest their 

 eyes should suffer the disease, look into cold water 

 and then are able to see far ; that harmeth not the 

 vision, but much wine drinking and other sweetened 

 drinks and meats, and those especially which remain 

 in the upper region of the wamb and cannot digest, 

 but there form evil humours and thick ones ; leek and 

 colewort and all that are so austere are to be avoided, 

 and care must he had that a man lie not in bed in 

 day time supine ; and cold and wind and reek and 

 dust, these things and the like to these every day are 

 injurious to the eyes. For mistiness of eyes, take green 

 fennel, put it into water for thirty days in a crock 

 {or earthen vessel), one that is pitched on the outside, 

 fill it then with rain water ; after that throw off" 

 the fennel and with the water every day wash the 

 eyes and open them. Again, from the vapour and 



' The verbs are often suppressed. 



- Wild rue is a Hellenism, Tri)ya- 



vov &ypiov, Dioskor. iii. 59, op/udfei 



Trpus oi/xfi\va>irias, or ruta silvestris; 

 Plinius, XX. 51. These are pega- 

 iium harmala. 



